Statistical Challenges in Modern Astronomy VI

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

A conference on Statistical Challenges in Modern Astronomy VI will be held at Carnegie-Mellon University, June 6-10, 2016. (See http://www.scma6.org/.) Astronomical data are continuously being gathered from surveys that are increasingly ambitious in scope, and astronomers face a wide range of challenges when transforming this information into scientific conclusions. This conference brings together statisticians and astronomers to work on problems in astronomy involving large amounts of data. It has been held every five years since 1991. The conference Statistical Challenges in Modern Astronomy VI will be held at Carnegie-Mellon University, June 6-10, 2016. Over 15 years the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has collected 100 terabytes data from hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies, as well as a million supermassive black holes; by contrast, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), planned for completion by 2022, will gather 15 terabytes of data per night over its ten-year life. The full scientific potential of these surveys will be realized not only with ingenuity, but also with novel methods of data analysis. Experts in statistics and machine learning can make crucial contributions both to these specific domains, and to general methodological development for Big Data applications. This conference is a major effort to increase the interaction of astronomers and data scientists and to build the next generation of scientists to bridge the gap between these disciplines.